''My Best Friend's Exorcism'' is a 2016

horror novel Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J. ...

Grady Hendrix Grady Hendrix is an American author, journalist, public speaker, and screenwriter known for his best-selling 2014 novel '' Horrorstör''. Hendrix lives in Manhattan and was one of the founders of the New York Asian Film Festival. Life and career ...

. A hardback edition was published on May 17, 2016, through

Quirk Books Quirk Books is an American independent book publisher based in Philadelphia. History Before 2002, Quirk Books was a creative studio that would pitch novel ideas to other publishers. Quirk Books was founded as a publishing company in 2002 by Da ...

and an audiobook narrated by Emily Woo Zeller was released through

Blackstone Audio Blackstone Audio is one of the largest independent audiobook publishers in the United States, offering over 30,000 audiobooks. The company is based in Ashland, Oregon with five in-house recording studios. Blackstone distributes directly to consu ...

. A

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

directed by Damon Thomas from a screenplay by

Jenna Lamia Jenna Lamia is an American actress, writer, and audiobook narrator. Career Acting Lamia began her acting career in New York City, where she appeared on Broadway in Eugene O'Neill's ''Ah, Wilderness!'' at Lincoln Center. She soon moved on to tele ...

was released in 2022 on

Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service prim ...

Synopsis

The year is 1988 and Abby Rivers has just started her

sophomore year In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

of high school in

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. She is glad to have her best friend Gretchen Lang at her side, as they have been inseparable since they met at Abby's 10th birthday back in 1982. Gretchen was the only one to attend Abby's ''

E.T. ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dub ...

''-themed birthday party at the skating rink and their friendship was cemented ever since. The novel then goes through their relationship from that point on, which includes singing into hairbrushes to

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, getting their hair braided in Jamaica, and dealing with the awkwardness of growing up, whether it is bad acne or overprotective parents. They even try LSD with their friends Glee and Margaret at Margaret's lake house—a decision that results in Gretchen disappearing into the woods and returning a few hours later. Her friends are concerned, but Gretchen claims that nothing happened. Her actions belie her words, as she begins acting increasingly more erratic, prompting Abby to suspect that Gretchen might actually be possessed by a demon.

Reception

''My Best Friend's Exorcism'' received reviews from ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' and ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'', the latter of which stated, "Certainly not for all readers, but anyone interested in seeing

William Peter Blatty William Peter Blatty (January 7, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American writer, director and producer. He is best known for his 1971 novel, ''The Exorcist'', and for his 1974 screenplay for the film adaptation of the same name. Blatty won ...

's infamous ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...

'' (1971) by way of ''

Heathers ''Heathers'' is a 1989 American black comedy film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann, in both of their respective film debuts. The film stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, and ...

'' shouldn't miss it." ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'' also drew comparisons to ''Heathers'' and commented that the book was "totally awesome". ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' wrote a favorable review for the book, writing "Hendrix’s prose walks the fine line between comedy and horror throughout, delivering a simultaneously heartwarming and terrifying tale of teenage friendship, which is something most of us can relate to, exorcism or not."

Film

In November 2018, it was announced that

Endeavor Content Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, WME or WME-IMG) is an American holding company for talent and media agencies with its primary offices in Beverly Hills, California, United States. The compa ...

had won the film adaptation rights for ''My Best Friend's Exorcism''. Christopher Landon and

Ellen Goldsmith-Vein Ellen Goldsmith-Vein (born 1963) is an American television and film producer. She is the founder and CEO of the Gotham Group, a management company. As the only woman to own her own management company, with over 40 employees, Goldsmith-Vein was th ...

were announced to produce. Damon Thomas has been announced as director. The film was released on

on September 30, 2022.

References

External links

* {{Grady Hendrix 2010s horror novels 2016 American novels American horror novels American novels adapted into films American satirical novels Books by Grady Hendrix Demon novels Novels about spirit possession Novels set in high schools and secondary schools Novels set in South Carolina Novels set in the 1980s Quirk Books books